Diane Harding CV

DIANE HARDING

CURRICULUM VITAE

As at October 2018

SUMMARY OF MY EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

30+ years experience in the textile industry.

5 of which were spent as Design Manager for 2 different textile companies.

Followed by 10 years as Founder and Managing Director of Wilson Wilcox Furnishings Ltd – a middle market, design led furnishing fabric and wallcovering converter – I founded and built the company from zero to £5.5M sales from 1989 to 1999.

I developed an Internationally acclaimed brand with 50% of total revenue gained from Exporting to over 50 countries worldwide.

Established over 2000 accounts in the UK with 50% of the business being direct to retail and the balance to manufacturers of furniture, curtains, cushions, garden furniture and accessories such as child car seats, prams & toiletry bags.

In the last 18 years I have established a successful consultancy in design, marketing, sales and recruitment ‘Norfolk House’ – assisting furnishing fabric companies in the improvement of their brand, product development, marketing and sales.

Over the last 30 years I have built and managed a team of employees from 1 to 50.

An innovative stylist – with an eye for ensuring the latest trends are translated into exciting yet commercial designs and colourways.

An outstanding communicator who exhibits an open and honest management style and highly developed relationship skills.

A customer ‘champion’ who harnesses people, process and technology to provide a consistently first class customer service.

A highly creative and effective Director – who combines a sound understanding of business finance and operational drivers with proven change management abilities to produce strong and sustainable business growth.